2, possibly 3, dead in Craigslist killings

AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in Ohio say two men -- and possibly a third -- were slain and a fourth man was wounded when they answered a help-wanted ad posted on Craigslist.

The Summit County medical examiner's office said Saturday Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon died of gunshot wounds to the head, The Columbus Dispatch reported. The body of Kern, who had been missing since Nov. 13, was found in a shallow grave in Akron Friday.

Kern is the second confirmed fatality in the case. David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va., was found shot to death Nov. 15 in Noble County.

Authorities were awaiting results of an autopsy on a possible third victim, whose body was discovered in a wooded area of Noble County Friday, the Dispatch said.

A fourth man Scott Davis, 48, an Ohio native who had returned to the state from South Carolina looking for work, contacted police Nov. 6, saying he'd escaped two men who shot him in the arm, the newspaper said. Davis had answered a Craigslist ad seeking farm workers.

Police have charged Brogan W. Rafferty, 16, of Stow with attempted murder in the wounding of Davis. They also have jailed Richard J. Beasley, 52, an Akron man they allege was an accomplice.

The online ad the victims had answered promised $300 a week and a two-bedroom trailer in exchange for tending to cattle on a large Noble County farm, the Dispatch said.